


(realize deeply that) the present moment is all you have

by kayteedancer



Series: November Challenge [22]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bitty Owns a Bakery, M/M, so AU, they didn’t go to college together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 22:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12804039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayteedancer/pseuds/kayteedancer
Summary: When Bitty exited the Mercedes, he was assaulted with camera flashes, and Jack’s arm became a grounding force around his waist.“Holy shit,” Bitty hissed through a smile as he leaned into Jack. “I didn’t realize that so many paparazzi were going to be here.”Jack looked at him with a slightly quizzical smile as he tucked Bitty closer into his side. “This is the NHL Awards show, Bitty,” he whispered into his ear. “Of course there would be paparazzi.”





	(realize deeply that) the present moment is all you have

**Author's Note:**

> ...hi? I know this is super late, but it’s done?? Please don’t kill me. Here’s Day 22. The prompt was: _You’ve been dating your partner for six months. Tonight they’ve invited you to a work event, and as you step onto the red carpet, you realize it for the first time: you’re dating a celebrity_.
> 
> The prompt absolutely _screamed_ Jack and Bitty to me, so here’s another in the Check Please! universe. This time, it’s a total AU where Bitty and Jack didn’t cross paths in college and met later. A type of Bakery!AU meet-cute, if you will. XD
> 
> Thank you so very much to all of you that have read and left kudos and commented!! You’re all the bomb and keep me hanging on as this challenge draws to a close. <3 <3
> 
> Please feel free to come say hello over on my tumblr (sleepeatdancedream)! I would love to chat and maybe even get some prompts for you :D
> 
> I hope you enjoy Day 22! Let me know what you think! <3
> 
> Title is a quote by Eckhart Tolle.

Bitty straightened his pink plaid bow tie with a slight smile on his face. He couldn’t wait for tonight. He had been dating just the _absolute best_ guy for the past six months and he had finally asked him to go public and accompany him to an event.

Bitty giggled and twirled, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles in his navy blue suit and salmon pink shirt.

Bitty had met his boyfriend Jack when Jack had come in to Bitty’s bakery, Give Me Some Sugar, and ordered a last minute blackberry pie. Jack had been so sweet, so polite, and to be honest, he had the _best ass_ Bitty had _ever_ seen.

Jack had come in practically every day for increasingly dubious reasons, buying cupcakes and cookies and mini-pies until Bitty had finally iced him half a dozen cupcakes that said, “Jack, will you go on a date with me?”

The six months that followed were the best Bitty could ever remember and he could not be happier that Jack had wanted to start a relationship with him.

Tonight, Jack had picked him up in a nice Mercedes, with a _driver_ , which was new, and was dressed to the nines, a nervous but excited smile lighting up his face, and Bitty’s heart ached with how much he loved this man.

He _really_ did. He loved Jack, and he was so happy that Jack was ready to be public so Bitty could shout his love to the world.

But when Bitty exited the Mercedes, he was assaulted with camera flashes, and Jack’s arm became a grounding force around his waist.

“Holy shit,” Bitty hissed through a smile as he leaned into Jack. “I didn’t realize that so many paparazzi were going to be here.”

Jack looked at him with a slightly quizzical smile as he tucked Bitty closer into his side.

“This is the NHL Awards show, Bitty,” he whispered into his ear. “Of course there would be paparazzi.”

It didn’t really hit Bitty until he was posing for pictures with Jack and paparazzi and journalists were asking Bitty his opinion on what it was like to date the probable Bill Masterson Trophy winner when Bitty finally connected all the clues: he was dating a _hockey player_. And not only was he dating a hockey player, but Bitty was dating a _very famous and successful one_ at that.

Bitty looked up at Jack, smile plastered on his face as he hissed, “Why didn’t you tell me you played hockey?!”

Jack just laughed and pressed a kiss to Bitty’s temple, sending the paparazzi into a flurry of flashes again as they tried to capture the moment.

“I thought you had Googled me when we started dating,” Jack murmured into his ear. “I didn’t try to keep it a secret or anything.”

And that was true, now that Bitty thought back on it. Jack had never _lied_ about going to hockey games or the fact that he would be gone a lot of the time. Bitty had just thought that Jack was a particularly dedicated fan or part of the support staff, definitely not one of the stars of the game!

Bitty elbowed Jack in the stomach hard as he said, “Googling is inconsiderate,” and Jack had the temerity to laugh at him!

“Googling is safe,” Jack responded, and Bitty had no recourse.

Kissing the hinge of Jack’s jaw and sending the paparazzi back into paroxysms of glee, Bitty smiled and replied, “Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have told me.”

Jack nearly started crying, he was laughing so hard, and Bitty smiled genuinely as he watched Jack, the paparazzi’s cameras ever-present in the background.

“I still love you, even though you lied to me about being a famous hockey player,” Bitty muttered cheekily, and Jack pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.

“And I love you, even though you don’t know how to Google,” Jack laughed, and Bitty squeezed the arm around Jack’s waist.

Even though he hadn’t realized he was dating a famous athlete before, Bitty would be damned if he thought anyone believed him unsupportive now that Jack had come out as the first openly gay member of the National Hockey League. Especially because it was _Jack_.


End file.
